Allison Burke and Rosalie Dillon, both Hood River Valley High School seniors, have been chosen the Elks Students of the month for May.
Burke is the daughter of Susan and Gary Burke. She has a younger brother who is a sophomore at HRVHS.
Burke has a GPA of 3.87. She has taken an array of advanced courses at HRVHS. She has been on the HRVHS Honor Roll since her freshman year and is a member of the National Honor Society.
She worked as a Link Leader her sophomore year, guiding and serving as a role model to incoming freshman.
She was also chosen by HRVHS staff to be a Student Ambassador her sophomore year. As an ambassador, she acts as a representative of her school, welcoming new students and giving them tours of the school. This outreach helps new students feel comfortable and welcome.
Burke competed in cross country her freshman year, women’s water polo her sophomore year, and has been a stand-out state qualifying swimmer all four years of high school. She was the women’s varsity team captain her junior year and was awarded the Varsity Eagle Award her senior year. She has dedicated many hours to swimming every day after school and competing during the week and on weekends. Her love of swimming has led her to her current employment at the Hood River Aquatic Center, where she has worked as a lifeguard since 2015. She has volunteered at the aquatic center as a timer at Masters and other swim meets since her freshman year. She also aided swimmers in the Columbia River cross channel swim while riding along on a stand up paddle board.
Burke has volunteered at the Harvest Fest as a greeter, handing out maps and flyers. She also did garden work for Providence Memorial Hospital for Community Work Day. Burke said her most meaningful volunteer experience was when she volunteered as an Outdoor School counselor, teaching outdoor science lessons and acting as a role model and leader for sixth graders for a week at Camp Westwind on the Oregon coast.
When Burke is not attending school, competing in swimming, volunteering in the community, or working as a lifeguard, she works as a dog sitter. She also is an OSU Certified Babysitter and enjoys caring for kids as well.
Burke plans on attending Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma in the fall, majoring in nursing with a minor in Spanish. She will be competing on the PLU women’s varsity swim team.
Dillon is the daughter of Paul Blackburn and Kristen Dillon.
Her resume shows a wide range of community service. Some of her service is athletic-related, such as volunteering at the ski swap and Bridge of the Goddess run multiple years. She is a varsity cheerleader, and taught elementary youth dances, cheers, and chants to build school spirit at a young age.
She participated in fundraising for the Bowl for Kids’ sake project, which raises money for the local Big Brother, Big Sister program.
Dillon is also an active volunteer through her church. She assists with church services, and acted in a church play. She works for the local chapter of the United Way to raise money for many local non-profit organizations.
She is politically active as well, and helped to lead a Peace Rally in Hood River, which was completely organized by teenagers. Dillon helped at the Kiteboard 4 Cancer event by decorating a surfboard that was auctioned off as a fundraiser. She helped organize toy bags for the annual Christmas Project. She is an HRVHS Student Ambassador, and works to make new students and visitors feel welcome and comfortable.
Dillon is also involved in numerous extra-curricular activities at HRVHS. She has been on the ski team and is a four year cheerleader. She was captain of the cheer team in 2017. She’s a member of the National Honor Society and the National Arts Honor Society. She was in Leadership and helped to orchestrate many homecoming activities, as well as school activities.
Dillon dances at Columbia Gorge Dance Academy. She’s an active member of the Mid-Columbia Unitarian-Universalist Church, participating in several youth group programs. She has also worked as a babysitter, nanny, and hostess at Riverside Restaurant. She carries a 4.0 GPA and has taken many AP, Honors, and college credit classes at HRV.
Dillon will attend Santa Clara University next year, and plans to major in communications or chemistry. She has one older sister, Althea, who will graduate from Occidental College this month.
The Student of the Year banquet will be held on June 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the Elks Lodge.
Commented